BUYER BEWARE: Toni Basil Claims ‘Mickey’ Has Been Used Without Her Permission for Decades

Screen shot of Toni Basil in her music video for Mickey (YouTube)

Toni Basil, the one-hit wonder behind “Mickey,” filed suit in L.A. Superior Court on Thursday alleging that the song has been used without her permission for decades.

According to the suit, Basil recently became aware that the song was used in an episode of “South Park,” in a Forever 21 ad, and on an episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” She was particularly offended that the Forever 21 campaign was in support of a line of Disney products, associating her song with Mickey Mouse.

“Basil was never consulted and would never consent to the use of her voice, persona, image, or name coupled with Disney products,” the suit states.

Since finding that her song was misused, Basil has become “withdrawn, despondent, and physically ill,” the suit alleges, and has experienced “sleep deprivation, nightmares, and anxiety.”

The suit documents a long history of the rights to the song, which was released in 1981. The original label, Radialchoice Limited, was forced into liquidation in 1985. Basil contends that the numerous transfers of the “Mickey” rights, which began shortly before the liquidation, are invalid because she did not consent to them.

Basil is suing Razor & Tie Entertainment, which currently controls the rights to the song, as well as the Walt Disney Company, Forever 21, VH1, and the producers of “South Park.”